Minutes of the Auburn University Senate
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Broun Hall Auditorium
3:30 p.m.
Submitted by Judy Sheppard
Senate Secretary

A full transcript for this meeting is available.

Present:

Senate Officers:
Larry Crowley, Chair; Patricia Duffy, Chair-Elect; Judy Sheppard, Secretary; Gisela Bushle-Diller, Secretary-Elect; William Sauser, Immediate Past Chair.

Administration:
Joseph Aistrup, Dean, College of Liberal Arts; Nicholas Giordano, Dean, College of Science and Mathematics; June Henson, Dean, College of Human Sciences; Bonnie McEwan, Dean of Libraries; Timothy Boosinger, Provost.

Frank Sturm, President of the Graduate Student Organization; Bryan Elmore, Chair, A&P Assembly; Laura Plexico, Steering Committee.

Senators By Departments, Present:
Andrew Sinclair, Aerospace Engineering; Valentina Hartaski, Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology; James Bannon, AAES; Beth Guertal, Agronomy and Soils; Dale Coleman, Animal Sciences; Dean Schwartz, Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmocology; Barb Bondy, Art; Bob Locy, Biological Sciences; Daniel Phillips, Communication Disorders; Sansei Baskiyar, Computer Science and Software Engineering; Brian Parr, Curriculum and Teaching; Michael Stern, Economics; Lisa Kensler, Educational Foundations and Leadership; Thomas Baginski, Electrical and Computer Engineering; Hilary Wyss, English; Leonardo De La Fuente, Entomology and Plant Pathology; Harris Hollans, Finance; Rusty Wright, Fisheries and Allied Aquaculture; Adrienne Angelo, Foreign Languages and Literature; Amy Wright, Horticulture; Jerrod Bradley Windham, Industrial Design; Sean Gallagher, Industrial Design; Leah Robinson, Kinesiology; Pam Whaley, Library; Peter Stanwick, Management; Matthew Hoch, Music; Iris Mullins, Nursing; Kevin Huggins, Nutrition and Foods; Chippewa Thomas, Outreach; Vicky van Santen, Pathobiology; Muralikrishnan Dhanasekran, Pharmacal Sciences; Wesley Lindsey, Pharmacy Practice; Guy Rohrbaugh, Philosophy; Mike Bozack, Physics; Murray Jardine, Political Science; Gwynedd Thomas, Polymer/Fiber Engineering; Tung-Shi Huang, Poultry Science; Emily Meyers, Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work.

Absent administrators, sending substitute:
John Liu for John Mason, Vice President of Research; Steve Duke for Chris Roberts, College of Engineering.

Absent senators sending substitute: Andrew McClellan for Robert Cochran, Accountancy; Margaret Flores for Jill Meyer, Special Education, Rehab, Counseling.

Absent administrators, no substitute:
Executive Vice President Don Large; Debbie Shaw, Vice President of Alumni Affairs; Jane Parker, Vice President of Development.

Harrison Mills, President, Student Government Association; Jennifer Richardson, Chair, Staff Council; Steering Committee: Don Mulvaney, Larry Teeter, Michael Baginski.

Absent Senators, no substitute:
Paul Brown, ACES; Rebecca O’neal Dagg, architecture; Cliff Defee, Aviation Management and Statistics; Sushil Adhikari, Biosystems Engineering; Mark Taylor, Building Sciences; Allan David, Chemical Engineering; Eduardus Duin, Chemistry; Cliff Lange, Civil Engineering; Robert Agne, Communication and Journalism; Wi-suk Kwon, Consumer Affairs; Gary Hepp, Forestry and Wildlife Science; David King, Geology and Geography; Brent Fox, Health Outcomes Research and Policy; Tiffany Sippial, History; Ellen Abell, Human Development and Family Studies; James Carver,  Dmitry Glotov, Mathematics and Statistics; Dong-joo Kim, Mechanical Engineering; Daniel Svayntek, Psychology; ROTC Air Force, Jeffrey Hemmes; ROTC Army, Scott Copeland; ROTC Naval, Michael Esposito; Charles Bringardner, Theatre; Annette Smith, Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

 
I. CALL TO ORDER

Senate Chair Larry Crowley called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. as soon as a quorum was established. He called for approval of the minutes of the last Senate meeting on March 4. The minutes were unanimously approved.

II.  Dr. Jay Gogue spoke to the Senate about developments in the Alabama Legislature pertaining to Auburn University. State funding for the extension services is projected at a 7 percent increase, or $2 million. A bill that would have lowered the age of majority to allow students who are 18 to participate in university activities failed to pass; the age remains at 19. A “reciprocity” agreement that would affect the way distance learning courses are handled is waiting for the governor’s signature. The threshold at which equipment or services needed have to be let out to bid has been raised from $7,500 to $15,000. A bill allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons in their cars without permits was defeated. Also passed is a bill that requires retiring legislators to wait two years before going into legislative consulting.

III. Chair’s remarks: Larry Crowley told the Senate that, because Broun Hall is undergoing repairs, the Senate will hold its May 20 and June 17 meetings in Haley Center 1203. 

IV. Melissa Baumann, director of the Honors College, spoke about the honors program and its benefits for students and faculty. After discussing her background in honors programs at many other universities, Ms. Baumann told the Senate that faculty should challenge honors students to do more, and that the Honors College offers a chance for undergraduates to excel in academics, research and experiences such as Study Abroad programs. She called the honors college an “incubator for student success. ” There are 1,281 students in the program now and are required to maintain a 3.4 GPA. Students’ 4-year graduation rate is 57.6 percent compared to the average students’ rate of 39.8 percent. Their 6-year graduation rate is around 92 percent. Many graduates go to law or professional schools and are accepted pretty much wherever they apply. A new procedure is allowing students to enroll in upper-level courses and could apply from 9 to 12 credits toward a master’s degree if the student stays at Auburn. The program’s goals include having more students named National Prestigious Scholars and entering prestigious graduate schools and to build a national reputation.

Ms. Bauman urged faculty to truly challenge the students who enroll in their classes and require them to do substantial work to earn honors credits. She thanked the faculty who teach the courses and invited them to ask questions.

There were no questions.

V. Beth Guertal, chair of the Faculty Welfare and Salaries Committee, presented a report on parental leave policies at Auburn University.

Dr. Guertal said the committee members polled four or five colleges each to benchmark university paternal leave policies. Because schools define leave policies so differently and differ so widely in terms of definition of paternity, maternity, sick and annual leave, the committee will continue its research. Federal law (FMLAETC) requires an employer to give eligible workers 12 job-ensured unpaid weeks a year for family or health reasons. AU also offers a Salary Continuation Plan (SCP), used mainly for those with less than six months’ sick leave accumulated. It runs concurrently with the FMLAETC. In 2012, 76 people went on SCP; in 2013, 83; so far in 2014, 14. These leaves may be combined with the use of sick leave or annual leave in some cases at varying degrees of pay. (Annual leave is not affected.)

All such leaves are coordinated through Human Resources, which asks for paperwork to be filed as soon as possible and for supervisors to be as aware of how the leave policies affect their staff and faculty. Dr. Guertal then asked for questions.

Senator Hilary Wyss of English said that she had quickly Googled this issue and had seen many universities do offer a new policy of paid leave.

Dr. Guertal said that she had seen many universities’ web sites state they offer paid leave, but then when you examine them they’re actually drawing on sick or annual leave. But the committee is continuing to look at it.

Dr. Wyss then noted that, because of the semester system, students are disserved when they don’t have the same professor throughout the course. She said it didn’t make sense to have a leave policy that doesn’t cover an entire semester.

Dr. Guertal said that because FMLA is timed at 12 weeks, everything else seems to have been built around that time period, but that Dr. Wyss had a good point.

Senator Michael Stern of Economics said that the issue is more about flexibility than a complete and total leave in the HR definition. Faculty schedules aren’t based on hours spent in the office but on shifting schedules and workplaces. More flexibility could accommodate the faculty member who needs leave in one semester but can make it up by teaching extra courses in the next.

Senator Bob Locy of Biological Sciences asked about whether taking leave affected junior professors’ tenure clock. Dr. Guertal said that the university has a policy already that stops the clock for such reasons.

Dr. Crowley then asked if there was any new or old business. There being none, the meeting was adjourned at 4:20 p.m.